Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team targets strong Sachsenring race

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and Ben Spies are determined to bounce back from a tough qualifying session with strong results in tomorrow's Sachsenring MotoGP race.

Edwards and Spies will start tomorrow's 30-lap race from 12th and 13th on the grid respectively as both were unlucky to see their hard work and effort go unrewarded at the tight and twisty German venue.

Edwards posted a best time of 1.23.026 to start 12th on the grid, the 36-year-old working tirelessly to improve the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine in conditions that could not have been more wildly contrasting compared to the searing temperatures experienced during yesterd ay's opening practice session.

Hot and humid weather was replaced by much cooler conditions and qualifying took place under grey and gloomy skies but with no repeat of the torrential rain and thunderstorms that hit the track earlier.

Edwards was just over 0.5s away from the top six at the end of the session having experimented once again with different weight distribution settings on his YZR-M1 machine.

Circumstances conspired against luckless Spies this afternoon and his final position certainly didn't reflect his true potential after he'd been fastest Yamaha on track yesterday on his first visit to the Sachsenring.

Spies had just climbed to the brink of the top ten and was poised to begin his challenge on Bridgestone's soft compound tyre when he fell heavily at the first corner with just over 25 minutes remaining. Spies crashed out having been unable to avoid oil dropped by Jorge Lorenzo after the Spaniard experienced a technical problem. The session was immediately red flagged as Randy de Puniet quickly followed Spies into the gravel. Spies was able to walk away from the incident unscathed and he quickly regained his composure to try and claim a third successive top six grid position.

But the 26-year-old was unable to restart the session on his number one YZR-M1 machine that was badly damaged in the crash. Spies put in his maximum effort to try and improve his grid position on his spare bike, but a rousing late charge from the reigning World Superbike champion couldn't move him higher than 13th on the timesheets with a best time of 1.23.028. He was just over a tenth-a-of-second away from the top ten and 0.002s behind Edwards.

Both Edwards and Spies are aiming for a strong finish to boost confidence ahead of their crucial home race at Laguna Seca in California next Sunday (July 25).


Colin Edwards - Position: 12thTime: 1'23.026Laps: 32

"That was not an easy session at all and I feel like I rode much better than 12th. The amount of effort I'm putting in is not being reflected in the results and that is frustrating. It is not through a lack of trying and I've got to thank my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 because they have worked incredibly hard as always on the bike. We've tried pretty much everything. We put weight on the front and we took it off, we put weight on the rear and we changed the springs and pre-load and we did everything you could imagine and nothing was a big difference.

Tomorrow's race is going to be tough because this track is so tight that overtaking is not easy. At best I'd say I'm going to be fi ghting for seventh but I'll be riding as hard as I can to give myself some confidence ahead of Laguna Seca next weekend. That is a huge weekend for Ben and I and I want to arrive home in a positive frame of mind and ready for a good weekend."
 

 Ben Spies - Position: 13thTime: 1'23.028Laps: 35

"It obviously wasn't a good session when you look where I ended up and everything that could go wrong pretty much went wrong. I really believe we have a good pace but now we're starting way back and we've got to try and get a good start and come through the field. But where we qualified today doesn't reflect where we should be. I'd only been riding one bike this weekend and that got tore up in the crash. The lap times on my number one bike I definitely had something in the bag for qualifying to go faster than I did.

 But the best I could do on the spare bike was match the times I managed on the number one bike. The one decent lap I was on at the end that would have put me a row ahead, de Angelis crashed in front of me at the top of the hill and that just upset my lap. Before that though the incident at the first corner was crucial. I'd just finished my stint and was pulling in at the end of the lap to start going for a qualifying time.

All of a sudden I was on the ground and I hadn't really tipped in. I saw de Puniet's bike fly right past me and. I walked over to his bike and looked at the front tyre and saw it had oil all over it so I knew there was nothing I could do. Luckily I'm fine and will give it my best shot tomorrow."


- Yamaha Amsterdam -